You’ve heard it all before: Christmas is more than just giving and receiving presents. While this is true, people do not seem to acknowledge it. A walk through the decorations aisle at any supermarket will have you bear witness to the many ornaments and lawn decorations that do not keep true to the spirit of Christmas. There are no longer any Christmas tree ornaments depicting the Holy Family. Instead we have ornaments with logos of sports teams and generic snowflakes. The outdoor decorations are no better. It is a challenge to find a house with a nativity scene and easier to find houses with inflatable polar bears or presents. There is also a chance you might find an inflatable Santa riding a dinosaur. It is clear that hardly anyone knows what Christmas is truly about. Furthermore, Christmas is no longer treated as a season spanning several days. It is as if Christmas lasts several hours and ends abruptly.  At the start of January, supermarkets have already transitioned to Valentine’s Day, proving that the holiday of Christmas and similar holidays have been commercialized to an extreme. Christmas is so much more than people make it out to be.

Then what is Christmas truly about? Is it spending treasured time with family? In a way, yes. Family is a big part of Christmas, but if a family has lost the spirit of Christmas, it’s no better than spending Christmas alone. In it’s fullest sense, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, and the Holy Family which He was born into. That is what a family should be celebrating. So in these last few days of Christmas, keep the lights up, keep the tree up, keep the nativity scene up. Continue to celebrate the miracle of Christ and the Holy Family with your own family, and remember the miracle that is the birth of Christ.